updated 2/3/08
"Only connect! . . .Live in fragments no longer.” E. M. Forster, Howards End (1910), ch. 22
"One day when I was twenty-three or twenty-four this sentence seemed to form in my head, without my willing it, much as sentences form when we are half-asleep, ‘Hammer your thoughts into unity’. For days I could think of nothing else and for years I tested all I did by that sentence ...” William Butler Yeats (cited in Frank Tuohy, Yeats, 1976, p.51 )
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DB Grading Checklist
(for explanation of terms and conditions see below)
1. Two quotes from assigned reading with author and pages numbers in parentheses. THE AUTHOR'S NAME AND THE NAME OF THE WORK NEED TO BE CITED IN THE TEXT FOR EACH QUOTE. When incorporating the quote in your reading journal never say "it says," "the article says," "the quote says," "the Bible says," etc. Use the author's name. In most cases you should know the name; if it is not available, say something like, "the author says."
2. Quotes must not have been used before in the Discussion Board. Why this requirement? The goal is to get a sense of participation in a discussion. Hopefully, one would not try to participate in a discussion without listening to the others. Reading others' journal entries is the equivalent of listening. (Reading what your predecessors have written is also essential to writing publishable articles and books.)
3. The quote must be discussed explicitly in the text, connected to the topic, and the student needs to demonstrate knowledge of the meaning of the words of the quote in the original context. Quotes should not appear just as initial epigraphs or final talking points unless they are being discussed in the adjacent text.
Without such discussions of two quotes, with page nos. and names of works and authors, no points. With them, up to 8 points + additional points for additional quotes.
2. Two multimedia items (pictures, movie clips, songs with lyrics, etc.) with captions, discussed explicitly in the text, adjacent to the multimedia, and connected to the topic. The multimedia can be from the Bump image collection or elsewhere but must not have been used before in the Discussion Board.
Additoinal points will be awarded to multimedia items beyond the required two, if they are sufficiently complex and interesting and connected closely enough to the text to inspire the kind of analysis you might devote to a quote. To determine if the item meets these criteria the safest approach is to email the instructor in advance.
With two multimedia examples, as specified, up to 12 points + additional points for third or fourth examples or more, if analyzed in detail.
3. Another possible source for additional points is quotes from sources other than the assigned ones, if [1] they are essential to your discussion, [2] the words of the author are in quotation marks, and [3] full documentation of the source is provided according to the University of Chicago footnoting system. The quotation marks and the documentation are required even in "informal" writing such as this to avoid the charge of PLAGIARISM, which is grounds for expulsion from the university. Quotes without the quotation marks and documentation will be result in negative points and possible charges of plagiarism.
4. Up to five additional points can be earned if you Only Connect. Connected Entries are unified (coherent), fully integrating multimedia as well as text. They also make insightful and interesting connections among [1] all or almost all the assigned texts for that day and/or [2] texts assigned in the past, and/or [3] texts assigned in other courses and/or other texts the student may have read on her own.
5. Negative points will be awarded for egregious proofreading or grammatical errors. Minor errors, beyond the first one or two, will also be cause for negative points. Why? This is "informal" writing, but to some extent it counts toward your Substantial Writing Component requirements.
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*INSTRUCTIONS for discussion board contributions
What are these entries and how are they submitted for discussion and grading? Your responses to the assigned readings are to be submitted to the relevant Discussion Board on the course Facebook site by 8 P.M. the evening before the readings are to be discussed.
The complete contribution consists of the initial entry and all subsequent additions or replies before 8 P. M. for that assignment.
DB entries uploaded after 8 PM but before class will be penalized a few points. DB entries uploaded afterwards have to meet all the requirements but can only earn a maximum of half the points. If and when the late entries are uploaded the instructor must be notified by email.
Note the emphasis on reading the entries of those who contributed before you. This is the basic principle of civilized discussion. First, listen to what others have to say and acknowledge their contributions; only then offer your own ideas. First of all, your own entry must include at least two quotations not used by others, and thus you need to read the others in the discussion to avoid being penalized for a parasite entry. Secondly, UNITY points may be given for DISCUSSION, that is, reading others' entries and replying, especially with new quotations from the readings.
Thirdly, only by reading the whole discussion can a student become the official leader of the discussion and earn many more points. The procedure for doing this is described in the class participation instructions.
In addition to demonstrating that you have read the contributions of those who have gone before you, you need to demonstrate that you have read the assignment carefully by including at least two quotations that no one else has used earlier in the discusison. All quotations from the readings must include page numbers from our texts (in parentheses) after the quotes, unless the quote is from the edition of a novel other than the one assigned (in that case supply chapter nos.).
Where do Discussion Board entries fit in the grading scheme?
Grades: Almost 50% of the final grade may be determined by Discussion Board entries and related informal writing. Up to 33% of the grade may be determined by the discussion board contributions. About 10% is determined by participation in class discussion and performance of literature. Often this performance grade too will depend on the discussion board contributions, as they enable you to be prepared for class. An additional 15% or so of the final grade is for the portfolio and most of that will be based on the overall quality of the discussion board contributions.
Parasite journal entries will be awarded minus points. A parasite entry is one that uses the same quotes that someone else has used earlier in the discussion and shows no evidence that the author actually read the assignment closely. Avoiding a parasite journal is another lesson in time management. The earlier your entry appears in the discussion the fewer prior entries you will have to scrutinize to make sure that no one else has already used your quotations or made your points.
*The importance of READING DIRECTIONS in this course.
In terms of your future success even more important than reading literature with care is the ability to read directions carefully and follow them fully and faithfully. Employers regard that as a key asset, and of course see weakness in this area as a serious liability. You can not expect an employer to hold your hand throughout an assignment the way you may have expected your parents or previous school teachers to do so. Now that you are in college you must make the transition clearly stated in the traditional address to Freshmen at Amherst College. On the other hand, instructions and schedules often have ambiguities and sometimes even obvious errors. So, if after reading the directions carefully, you still have questions, you are strongly encouraged to ask questions in class, email the instructor, or come to see him in his office hours. I look forward to getting to know you and helping you in any way that I can. I want you to succeed here!
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TYPICAL MISTAKES CAUSED BY NOT READING DIRECTIONS:
First of all, when you have finished the Word version of your entry you do indeed need to SAVE AS WEB PAGE. If you don't, your entry will face the same problems as most of the early entries in one course. For example, one student just uploaded his "docx" version of his entry -- the sort of doc produced by the latest version of Word. My version can not read that at all; so I have no idea what he wrote. Another student uploaded an older version of Word which I can read but I can not see the images and I have to wait for it to download before I can begin the text. One student did SAVE AS WEB PAGE but then apparently did not follow the directions for Webspace for the image files.Y'all might be well advised to follow the directions to the letter.________________________________________________________________________________
How long should a daily reading journal be? If one tried to earn an "8" on quantity alone, an average of about 500 words would be required for each assignment. For some idea of how to grade the quality of a reader-response entry see the grading rubric below.
What should the format be? It is wise to look ahead to the presentation of your DB entries in your portfolio. Thus, they should be prepared on a word processor and the electronic file retained for the electronic portfolio due at the end of the course (which must include everything you have done in the course). You can paste the entry into the Discussion Board or link to it from your own website.
What should I write about in the DB entries ?These are what are known as “reader-response” entries. The goal is to record your responses as you read, including thoughts, feelings, memories, associations, guesses about what will happen next, opinions, etc. (see sample prompts below). Among your thoughts you would be well advised to consider how the text relates to the other readings assigned for that day and to all the other readings in the course and the course themes; in other words, “hammer your thoughts into unity.”
You must, however, prove that you have read the material and you must include at least two quotes with page nos. from the readings. Three or four quotes from very different parts of the reading would be best. In addition, quotes from other relevant sources would be quite valuable. Illustrations are helpful because your portfolio will be evaluated on the basis of its visual rhetoric as well as its completeness. The way to include pictures, music, etc. is to post your response on webspace or some other web site and provide the link in the Blackboard Discussion Board.
Reader’s Response Journal Prompts from http://www.lowndes.k12.ga.us/lhsweb/reader's_response.htm1. 1.Overall, what kind of a feeling did you have after reading a few paragraphs of this text? After reading half of the text? After finishing the text?
2. What do you feel is the most important word, phrase, passage, or paragraph in this text? Copy it and explain why it is important.
3. Do you think the title of the text is appropriate? Is it important? Explain.
4. From whose point of view is the story told? Why do you think the author chose that point of view?
5. Describe your favorite character and tell why you made that choice.
6. Describe the character you like the least. What do you dislike about the character?
7. Does anyone in the text remind you of anyone you know? Explain.
8. If you could be any character in this text, who would you be? Why?
9. Are any of the characters good role models? Why do you think so?
10. Write an imaginary conversation that you have with a character or with the author of the text.
11. Do any incidents, ideas, or actions in the text remind you of something that happened to you? Explain.
12. Describe a struggle or conflict in the text. Who is struggling and why? Did one of the characters win?
13. Are there any parts of this text that were confusing to you? If so, describe them and explain your confusion? You might begin the journal entry with the words, "I wonder why…."
14. Are there any parts of the text that were surprising to you? If so, describe them and explain why. You might begin the journal entry with the words, "I was surprised when…."
15. Describe the setting of the text, including the time and the place. Would you like to live in that place during that time period? Why or why not?
16. Do you feel the author expresses an opinion in this text? What is it? How do you know? Do you agree with the author? Why or why not?
17. Would you change the ending of this story in any way? Tell your ending. Why would you change it?
18. Sometimes texts leave you with the feeling that there is something more to tell. Did this text do that? What do you think might happen?
19. Do you like the text? Why or why not?
20. Would you like to read something else by this author? Why or why not?
How does one judge the quality of reader response entries like these ?
In addition to the criteria I have outlined above, here are some guidelines adapted from a set of rules used by another teacher.http://sheffner.home.pipeline.com/pdf_resources/journal_rubric.pdf.
15 points
Entries are unified (coherent), integrating images as well as text. They also make insightful and interesting connections among [1] all or almost all the assigned texts for that day and/or [2] texts assigned in the past, and/or [3] texts assigned in other courses and/or other texts the student may have read on her own. The argumentation is logical and convincing, avoiding gross oversimplification. Entries demonstrate close and careful reading of the assigned texts. Entries contain comparisons, contrasts, reactions, questions, opinions, response. Entries descend the ladder of abstractions often enough to provide examples, metaphors, pictures, etc. to convey the meaning to the right side of the brain as well as the left. Summary is limited to explanations necessary for the reader to make sense of the entry. Evidence from the text is used to support opinions, and accurate documentation is provided by page nos. and two or more quotations, with further bibliographic info. provided for works not on our reading list. Entries are in paragraph form. Entry is complete, with no grammatical errors, and no punctuation errors.
12 points
Entries are not unified (coherent), integrating images as well as text, but do include at least two examples of multimedia and at least two quotations. Entries make connections among the assigned works and, hopefully, works assigned in the past. Entries contain comparisons, contrasts, reactions, questions, opinions, response. If the prose is not felicitous, it is at least colloquial, as in matching the right prepositions with the right verbs. Entries descend the ladder of abstractions often enough to provide examples, metaphors, pictures, etc. to convey the meaning to the right side of the brain as well as the left. Summary is limited to explanations necessary for the reader to make sense of the entry. Evidence from the text is used to support opinions, and documentation is provided by page nos. and quotations. Entries are in paragraph form. Journal is complete, with no grammatical errors, and few if any punctuation errors.
8 points
Entries are not unified (coherent), integrating images as well as text, nor do they include at least two examples of multimedia, but they do have at least two quotations. Entries make connections among the assigned works. Entries contain comparisons, contrasts, reactions, questions, opinions, response. Entries descend the ladder of abstractions a little, though not enough, to provide examples, metaphors, pictures, etc. to convey the meaning to the right side of the brain as well as the left. Summary is limited to explanations necessary for the reader to make sense of the entry. Evidence from the text is used to support opinions, and documentation is provided by page nos. and quotations. Entries are in paragraph form. Entry is complete, with few grammatical errors.
0 points
Doubt about how well, if at all student has read the assignment. Entries are too brief to contain complete summaries or extensions. No quotation from the text is used. Incomplete entry. Mechanical problems are severe enough to cause comprehension problems for the reader .
*[1] The best way to make a multimedia entry for most students is to create the entry in MS Word, with pictures carefully chosen to add significantly to the meaning of the DB entry, and then "Save as Web Page." (MS Word is available at the Campus computer Store at a nominal fee.) Then upload the whole entry (the htm file and the folder with the picture files) to your webspace account (or some such server such as www.blogger.com or livejournal.com) and just provide a hyperlink (the webspace U.R.L.) in the D.B. This is the best way to start building the electronic portfolio that is due at the end of the semester.
If you use webspace, when you upload your htm file to your webspace account you will also have to upload your "_files" folder of the same name. You will probably have to first create a folder in webspace with the exact same name and then upload the files one by one into it. IN ANY CASE, WHEN YOU HAVE UPLOADED YOUR FILES TO YOUR WEBSPACE ACCOUNT YOU MUST THEN CLICK ON THE "SHARE" ICON FOR EACH AND EVERY FILE AND FOLDER AND SELECT THE "PUBLIC" SHARE PERMISSION FOR ALL TO "READ" EACH FILE.
